Doha: Son Heung-min’s South Korea fought their way into the Asia Cup finals after conceding a last-minute equalizer in a ridiculous 3-3 draw with mid-table Malaysia on Thursday.

The result in Doha allowed South Korea to advance to second place in Group E, avoiding a round-of-16 showdown with pre-tournament favorites Japan.

Instead, they will face the winner of Group F, which Saudi Arabia currently leads ahead of Thailand.

Bahrain topped Group E and will face Japan, who also advanced to the last 16 with a 1-0 victory over Jordan.

Malaysia, ranked 130th in the world, were eliminated despite heroics from Romel Morales, who scored the equalizer in the 105th minute.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s South Korea thought they had won when Lee Kang-in equalized with a free kick in the 83rd minute and Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Goal scored from a penalty in the 94th minute.

Jung Woo-young’s goal in the 21st minute gave South Korea the lead, but Malaysia fought back early in the second half with Faisal Halim and Arif Ayman scoring two goals from penalties.

Coach Klinsmann named Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan as a substitute for the first time in the Asian Cup.

Van Swan, who has scored 10 goals in the Premier League this season, is suffering from a hip injury.

South Korea thanked VAR for the opening goal.

Chong headed the ball towards goal, but it initially looked like Malaysian goalkeeper Sihan Hazmi made a great save to parry it away.

However, replays showed that the ball had crossed the line before Hazmi had a chance to touch it.

It was a rare ruthless moment for the Korean team, who dominated the ball in the first half but were unable to convert it into a goal.

Malaysia retaliated with a stunning equalizer six minutes after the restart.

Darren Lock took the ball from Hwang In-beom, who was sleeping at the edge of the box, and Ha-lim turned Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae over and slotted the ball into the goal from an angle.

In addition, Seol Yong-woo was judged to have kicked Ayman, and Malaysia were awarded a penalty after a VAR check.

Eyman sunk the spot-kick and some fans shed tears as they reflected on the famous victory.

Halim almost scored again on the counter as the Koreans poured forward in desperate search for an equalizer.

Korea continued to apply pressure and Lee scored his third goal of the tournament.

Captain Son gave South Korea the lead after substitute Oh Hyun-kyu collapsed in the box during stoppage time in the second half.

However, Malaysia had the final say as Morales scored the famous equalizer.